Toy



April 26, 1966 Filed March 2, 1964 M. l. GLASS ETAL TOY v zzzars jlw hm,

April 26, 1966 M. GLASS ETAL TOY 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 2, 1964 United States Patent Filed Mar. 2, 1964, Ser. No. 348,462 Claims. (Cl. 8 4330) The present invention relates generally to toys, and is more particularly directed to a musical toy.

Various musical toys have been produced throughout the years, and such toys have generally either been of the music box type wherein the child operates the toy to repeatedly produce a certain tune, or they have been musical instruments which require some degree of talent on the part of the child. The present invention is particularly directed to a type of musical toy which enables a child to easily produce a musical tune without talent or practice, and which also provides for a variety oftunes to be played.

The primary object of this 'invention is to provide a novel form of musical toy. A further object of the invention is to provide a novel musical toy wherein predetermined tunes or songs are readily played in a mechanical manner and through simple operation of the toy. Still another object is to provide a toy flute or whistle which automatically produces a predetermined sequence of notes as the toy is operated. Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description of the selected embodiments illustrated in the drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged, longitudinal sectional view of the instrument in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the tune piece provided for the toy;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 2, but illustrates the mechanism in another position;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken generally along the line s s in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of a portion of the toy seen also in FIGURES 4 and 5;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of another portion of the operating mechanism for the toy;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 9 is an enlarged view of the musical toy in FIGURE 8, with portions thereof broken away and in section;

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view taken generally along I the line 10-10 in FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 11 is a sectional view taken along the line 11-11 of FIGURE 10;

FIGURE 12 is a sectional view taken along the line 1212 in FIGURE 10; and

FIGURE 13 is a perspective view of the tune piece shown in FIGURE 10.

Toy whistles, flutes and the like have been popular with children for a considerable period of time, but the type presented heretofore generally required a degree of talent on the part of the child if a song or melody is to be produced. For example, in a whistle or flute having a slidable piston, the player can only reproduce a tune after he has determined by trial and error the proper amount of movement to be given to the sliding piston for each note. Children normally do not have the amount of patience that is required to learn to properly play such an instrument and, therefore, the prior art devices soon lose their attractiveness to a child. The present invention is particularly concerned with the providing of a 3,247,748 Patented Apr. 26, 1966 whistle or flute of the slidable piston type which includes means such that the sliding movement of the piston is automatically controlled for each note and there automatically results a very definite melody from the playing of the instrument.

With particular reference to the embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 5, it will be noted that the musical toy 20 shown in these figures is generally like a flute or abbreviated clarinet in appearance, but it also includes operating keys 22 designed generally in the fashion of a trumpet, thereby giving the instrument a somewhat novel and unique appearance. The illustrated musical instrument 20 comprises a generally tubular housing portion 24 with a mouthpiece 26 at one end and a horn 28 at the other end. Mounted on an intermediate portion of the tubular housing is an operating lever 30 including the three buttons or keys 22 on the top. The opposite sides of the tubular housing are provided with aligned and generally rectangular openings 32 th'erethrough which are adapted to receive a generally fiat tune piece 34, such as that shown in FIGURE 3. The tune piece is inserted into one of the openings 32 at the side of the housing 24 and, as the lever 30 is depressed and then released, the tune piece 34 is moved transversely of the tubular housing in increments while, at the same time, determining the extent of movement of a slidable piston 36 disposed in a resonant chamber 38 within the housing 24. By blowing through the mouthpiece 26 and operating the lever 30 repeatedly to move up and down, a series of notes are produced, with each note (or the pitch of the sound produced) being determined by the tune piece.

With reference now to-FIGURES 2, 4 and 5, a more detailed description of the structure and operation of the musical toy will be given. The tubular housing 24 is preferably of plastic and made in two half sections which can be readily interlocked or cemented together. mouthpiece 26 and the horn 28 may, if desired, each be a single piece and be secured in position on the tubular housing after the latter has been assembled. The mouthpiece 26 includes upper and lower wall portions which taper toward the outer end of the mouthpiece and provide an air inlet opening 40 at such outer end into which air can be blown. The air passes through a converging passageway 42 (FIGURE 5) and past a narrow valved passage into the forward portion of the mouthpiece to an area which includes an air outlet including a knife edge portion 44. This construction is very similar to known forms of mouthpieces for whistles, organs, and the like, wherein the rush of air past the knife edge creates the whistle or other musical sound. The forward portion of the mouthpiece communicates with the resonant chamber 38 in the form of a cylindrical housing in which is positioned the slidable piston member 36 carried by an elongated piston bar 46. As is known, the length of the column of air in the resonant chamber 38 will determine the pitch of the sound as the air rushes past the knife edge 44 to the exterior of the whistle. By moving the piston 36 fore-and-aft of the whistle, the length of the air column is varied and, consequently, the pitch of the sound produced is also varied.

As indicated previously, the movement of the slidable piston 36 and its position in the cylindrical housing 38 is automatically determined with the present invention, so as to produce a note of definite pitch. This is accom-. plished generally by the cooperation of the piston bar 46 with the tune piece or stick 34, which is illustrated particularly in FIGURE 3. This tune piece is generally flat and includes a pair of vertically extending ribs 48 and 50 which serve to guide the stick in its travel through a groove extending transversely of the tubular housing 24. One surface of the tune stick includes a raised por- The tion 52 defining a series of slots or notches 54 of varying distance with respect to the ribbed edge of the tune piece. Each notch 54 serves as a limit or stop for the slidable piston bar 46, with the latter including at its free end a depending portion 56 adapted to engage the aligned notch on the tune piece. By means to be described, the piston bar 46 is first moved forwardly, i.e., away from the mouthpiece 26 and then brought toward it until the depending stop portion 56 engages the aligned notch 54 on the tune piece. This, of course, determines the position of the piston 36 in the cylinder which in turn determines the pitch of the sound produced by the whistle as air is blown through the mouthpiece 26. The depression of the lever 30 also effects transverse movement of the tune piece 34, as well as the described movement of the piston 36, with the tune piece being moved in increments so as to provide a proper stop each time a different note is to be played. Consequently, as air is blown into the mouthpiece and the lever 30 is repeatedly depressed and released, various notes of a predetermined melody are played as determined by the tune piece moving through the flute.

The lever 30 is biased into its upper position by a leaf spring 60 (FIGURE 4) which is generally U-shaped and has one end fixed within the tubular housing, as by a boss 62, and the opposite end pressing against the bottom of the lever 30. The forward end of the lever 30 includes a cross member 64 or the like which is suitably secured between ribbed portions 66, 63 in the housing to permit limited rotation about the axis of the cross member 64. The underside of the lever 30 is provided with a depending stem portion 70 extending through a slot 72 in the housing and having a transverse cylindrical part 74 at the lower end thereof positioned to bear against a generally vertically extending leg section 7 8 of a rocker part 8t). This rocker part 80 is generally U-shaped and includes at its bight portion a transverse cylindrical section 82 fitted between a pair of groove-defining ribs 84 at opposite sides of the housing 24. The other leg 86 of the rocker part 81) extends upwardly into a position of engagement with a transverse portion of the piston bar 46. Consequently, as the lever 30 is depressed, it forces the forward leg 78 of the rocker 80 forwardly and downwardly and thus produces a corresponding forward movement of the rocker and of the associated piston bar 46. The piston bar 46 is biased to a rearward position (FIG- URE 4) by a coil spring 88 which extends between a forward projection 90 on the piston bar and a fixed peg 92 formed in the flute housing. The forward movement of the piston bar 46 is limited by the extent of downward movement afforded for the lever 30. As the lever is released, the coil spring 88 causes the bar 46 to be retracted to its rearwardmost position, as shown in FIG- URE 4.

The movement of the tune piece or stick 34 through the flute housing openings 32 is effected through cooperation of the slidable piston bar 46 with a pawl assembly 94, the latter being seen particularly in FIGURE 5. Generally, this pawl assembly 94 acts on a serrated edge portion 96 of the tune piece to provide incremental movement of the tune piece through the flute housing as the lever 30 is depressed and then released to move upwardly. More particularly, the pawl assembly 94 comprises a first pawl 98 and a second pawl 1% which are pivotally mounted on pins which are preferably molded integrally with the flute housing. It will be noted that the second pawl pivot includes a slot 102 engaging the pin 104, and the two pawls are biased with respect to each other by a light, generally U-shaped spring 106 fitted at its opposite ends into notches provided on the pawls. Movement of these pawls is effected by a boss or lug 108 (FIGURE 4) projecting downwardly from the piston bar 46 in the path of the pawl 101). As the lug 108 strikes the pawl 1110, it causes the latter to shift forwardly into engagement of its pointed end 110 with a serration on the rear edge 6 of the tune piece 34. At the same time, this pawl 1139 is rotated about its pivot to cause the tune piece to shift its position one notch and, also, to cause the rearward arm of the pawl to strike aaginst the rearward arm of pawl 98 and rotate the latter. move its pointed end 112 over an inclined edge of the serration engaged thereby and drop into place in the next succeeding serration. As indicated previously, this forward movement of the sliding bar 46 to effect the described lateral shifting of the tune piece 34 is provided for by the depressing of the lever 30. As the lever is released for upward movement under the biasing action of spring 60, the sliding bar 46 moves rearwardly until the stop 56 on the forward end thereof engages the bottom of the aligned groove or notch 54 in the tune piece. This fixedly positions the piston 36 in the cylinder 38 so that the passage of air through the mouth piece 26 will produce a definite note or pitch of sound.

The movement of the lever 39 also serves to operate a sliding valve 114 which closes off the narrow passageway in the mouthpiece during positioning of the slidable piston and then moves the valve 114 to an open position permitting the passage of air through the mouthpiece when the piston has been properly positioned so as to permit the playing of a note. This valve 114 includes a valve rod 116 which extends forwardly and includes a notch 119 receiving the depending lever part 70. The valve 114 is biased into its closed position by a coil spring 118 surrounding the rod and fixed intermediate a transverse wall 120 of the housing and a suitable collar 122, pin or the like on the rod 116. As the lever 30 is depressed, the valve 114 is moved rearwardly to a position closing off the restricted air passage by the action of its biasing spring. As the lever is permitted to raise, an inclined cam surface 124 on the depending stem part 70 forces the forward end of the valve rod 116 forwardly to move the valve to its open position. Thus it is seen that the downward movement of the lever 30 causes (a) shifting of the tune piece 34, (b) closing off the air flow through the mouthpiece 26, and (c) positioning of the piston 36 to play a note determined by a notch 54 in the tune piece 34. As the lever moves upwardly, the valve I 114 is moved to permit passage of air past the knife edge 44 and thereby produce the note determined by the tune piece. Repeated operation of the lever, of course, produces a repeated shifting of the tune piece and the production of a sequence of notes (melody) as determined by the notches 54 on the tune piece.

With reference now to FIGURES 8 through 13, it will be seen that a more simplified version of the invention can be provided while still providing many of the novel features described with respect to FIGURES 1-7. As noted particularly in FIGURES 9 and 10, this second embodiment includes a slidable piston type of flute or whistle incorporating essentially the same form of tune piece, indicated at 142, and being operated much in the manner of that described above with respect to the first embodiment. However, in this instance, the movement of the tune piece 142 and the positioning of the slidable piston 144 in its resonant housing 146 is effected through straight, reciprocal movement of the piston bar 148, as by moving the ring 150 at the forward end of the flute fore-and-aft. The mouthpiece 152 includes the narrow passageway 154 for the admission of air and the knife edge portion 156 at the air outlet so as to provide for the exit of the air in a manner to produce a whistle or sound. As in the previous embodiment, the resonant housing or cylinder 146 for receiving the movable piston 144 is effective to vary the pitch of the sound produced by varying the movement of the piston so as to provide a different length of column of air within the housing 146. In this second embodiment, the tune piece 142 moves vertically through the flute housing, and such movement is effected by a pawl assembly 158 which varies slightly from that described above. In this instance,

This causes pawl 98 to 'spring 168 fixed between the two ,pawls.

the pawl assembly includes a first pawl 160 rotatably mounted on 'a pin 162, a second pawl 164 having an elongated slot engaging a second pin 166, and a U-shaped The slidable bar 148, which includes the piston 144 on one end and the ring 150 on the other, also includes a depending pin or lug 170 in position for engagement with the first pawl 164. As this first pawl 164 is rotated by its'engagement by the lug 170 as the bar 148 moves forwardly, the pawl 164 moves the tune piece 142 vertically upward through engagement of the pointed end 172 of the pawl with a serration 174 on the edge of the tune piece. The pointed end 176 of the second pawl rides over the inclined edge of another serration and then drops into place so as to temporarily lock or hold the tune piece in position. At this point, one ofthe notches 180 on the tune piece is aligned with a limit or stop 182 on the forward portion of the slidable bar 148, and the slidable bar is manually moved inwardly until the stop 182 abuts the rearward edge of a groove 180 in the tune piece. This provides a predetermined position for the piston 144 and the blowing of air through the mouthpiece 152 will then produce the note determined by the efiective length of the resonant chamber 146. It is to be noted that in this more simplified version of the invention, there is no slidable valve for the mouthpiece, so that a note will be produced any time that air is blown through the mouthpiece. Consequently, in order to play the melody on the tune piece, the player must remember to blow air through the mouthpiece only when the stop 182 on the slidable bar 148 is at the bottom of the groove 180 on the tune piece. Further, the player must positively move the slidable bar fore-and-aft the entire length of its stroke each time a note is to be played.

Although shown and described with respect to particular embodiments, it will be apparent that various modifications might be made without departing from the principles of this invention. For example, the positioning of the tune piece with respect to the axis of the slidable piston rod might be other than-at right angles as shown. Then too, various forms of mechanism might be employed for effecting the desired sliding movement of the piston and, also, for relating such movement to the stops or abutments provided on the tune piece.

What is claimed is:

1. A whistle comprising an elongated housing including a mouthpiece at one end having an air inlet, an air outlet including an air deflecting edge, and a constricted air passage between said air inlet and said air outlet, a resonant tube within said housing and having communication with said air outlet, a piston movable within said resonant tube to vary the effective length thereof, a slidable piston rod connected with said piston for axial movement therewith, a tune piece comprising an element having a plurality of abutments thereon, means on said housing providing for support of said tune piece for movement relative thereto along a path wherein said abutments are sequentially disposed in the path of movement of said piston rod, and stop means adjacent the free end of said piston rod in position for engagement with said abutable piston rod connected with said piston for axial movement therewith, a tune piece comprising a generally flat, rectangular element having a plurality of abutments formed thereon and disposed at various distancesfrom one edge of the tune piece, means on said housing providing for support of said tune piece for movement relative thereto along a path wherein said abutments are sequentially disposed in the path of movement of said piston rod, and stop means on said piston rod in position for engagement with said abutments.

3. A whistle comprising an elongated housing including a mouthpiece at one end having an air inlet, an air outlet including an air deflecting edge, and a constricted air passage between said air inlet and said air outlet, a resonant tube within said housing and having communication with said air outlet, a piston movable within said resonant tube to vary the effective length thereof, a slidable piston rod connected with said piston for axial movement therewith, a tune piece comprising an element having a plurality of abutments thereon disposed at various distances from one edge of the tune piece, means on said housing providing for support of said tune piece for movement relative thereto along a path wherein said abutments are sequentially disposed in the path of movement of said piston rod, and means carried by said housing and operable to effect said movement of said tune piece, whereby said slidable piston rod and piston are sequentially positioned relative to said resonant tube to provide a definite series of musical notes as air is blown through said mouthpiece.

4. A whistle comprising an elongated housing including a mouthpiece at one end having an air inlet, an air outlet including an .air deflecting edge, and a constricted air passage between said air inlet and said air outlet, a resonant tube within said housing and having communication with said air outlet, a piston movable within said resonant tube to vary the effective length thereof, a slidable piston rod connected with said piston for axial movement therewith, a tune piece comprising an element having a plurality of abutments thereon disposed at various distances from one edge of the tune piece, means on said housing providing for support of said tune piece for movement relative thereto along a path wherein said abutments are sequentially disposed in the path of movement of said piston rod, said one edge of said tune piece having formed thereon a series of serrations or notches, and means carried by said housing and operable to effect said movement of said tune piece comprising a pivotally mounted pawl having an end portion positionable to engage one of said serrations on said tune piece, and a manually operable part movably supported on said housing and engageable with said pawl to effect pivotal move ment thereof so as to cause movement of said tune piece relative to said housing, whereby said slidable piston rod and piston are sequentially positioned relative to said resonant tube to provide a definite series of musical notes as air is blown through said mouthpiece and said manual 1y operated part is actuated.

5. A whistle comprising an elongated housing including a mouthpiece at one end having an air inlet, an air outlet including an air deflecting edge, and a constricted air passage between said air inlet and said air outlet, a resonant tube within said housing and having communication With said air outlet, a piston movable within said resonant tube to vary the effective length thereof, a slidable piston rod connected with said piston for axial move ment therewith, a tune piece comprising an element having a plurality of abutments thereon disposed at various distances from one edge of the tune piece, means on said housing providing for support of said tune piece for movement relative thereto along a path wherein said abutments are sequentially disposed in the path of movement of said piston rod, a movable valve means in said housing which is positionable to control the flow of air through said mouthpiece, and means carried by said housing and operable to effect said movement of said tune piece and the positioning of said valve means, said latter means being operable so that said slidable piston rod and piston are sequentially positioned relative to said resonant tube to provide a definite series of musical notes as air is blown through said mouthpiece and so that the passage of air 7 8 through said mouthpiece is permitted only when said 2,778,263 1/ 1957 Ruben 8 r 330 piston is in a position determined by said tune piece. 2,823,570 2/ 1958 Bacon 84-330 3,186,286 6/1965 Swensson 8483 References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 LOUIS I. CAPOZI, Przmary Exammer.

LEO SMILOW, J. W. HARATARY, Assistant Examiners.

2,669,150 2/1954 Shklar 8493 

1. A WHISTLE COMPRISING AN ELONGATED HOUSING INCLUDING A MOUTHPIECE AT ONE END HAVING AN AIR INLET, AN AIR OUTLET INCLUDING AN AIR DEFLECTING EDGE, AND A CONSTRICTED AIR PASSAGE BETWEEN SAID AIR INLET AND SAID AIR OUTLET, A RESONANT TUBE WITHIN SAID HOUSING AND HAVING COMMUNICATION WITH SAID AIR OUTLET, A PISTON MOVABLE WITHIN SAID RESONANT TUBE TO VARY THE EFFECTIVE LENGTH THEREOF, A SLIDABLE PISTON ROD CONNECTED WITH SAID PISTON FOR AXIAL MOVEMENT THEREWITH, A TUNE PIECE COMPRISING AN ELEMENT HAVING A PLURALITY OF ABUTMENTS THEREON, MEANS ON SAID HOUSING PROVIDING FOR SUPPORT OF SAID TUNE PIECE FOR MOVEMENT RELATIVE THERETO ALONG A PATH WHEREIN SAID ABUTMENTS ARE SEQUENTIALLY DISPOSED IN THE PATH OF MOVEMENT OF SAID PISTON ROD, AND STOP MEANS ADJACENT THE FREE END OF SAID PISTON ROD IN POSITION FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID ABUTMENTS ON SAID TUNE PIECE. 